They all grabbed some eggnog and they all sat down. Yumi put on the CD and it was a movie. The title said 'All About Ulrich.' The movie was full of pictures and movie clips. A movie clip came on next. It showed Ulrich getting up and he was in his underwear and t-shirt; he took off his t-shirt so he was left in his boxers. He grabbed some clothes and got dressed. Yumi was blushing completely and Aelita looked at Ulrich.
"Odd, I told you to take that clip out." Jeremie said.
"I thought you did it." Odd said. "Now Ulrich we can talk this over, don't kill us." Ulrich got up and ran after Jeremie and Odd.
"Just don't hurt Jeremie too bad Ulrich." Aelita said
Ulrich had them both cornered.
"We'll do anything." Jeremie said.
"Fine, I will need you to sign this paper saying that you will do anything." They walked back in and Ulrich sat down. Jeremie and Odd was fine, no bruises at all.
"Jeremie what happen, you seem fine." Aelita asked.
"We told Ulrich we would do anything to pay him back for this."
"I will tell you what you can do to make it up to me when we get back to school." They had a good night and they all said goodnight.
It was the day before they go back to school and Ulrich called Yumi.
"Hey Yumi, can you and Aelita pick up two good dresses and bring them tomorrow?"
"Does this have something to do about the 'you getting dressed' clip in the movie?"
"Yes, so can you?"
"Sure, I will see you tomorrow." she said.
"Bye, Yumi." he said and they hung up.
The next day came and Ulrich was up early. He went to the showers and let his worries wash away. He met Odd and Jeremie at breakfast.
"Today you pay me back."
"What do we have to do?" Jeremie asked.
"You have to wear dresses they whole day." He said in a whisper. "Either that or run around the school naked." Odd and Jeremie both looked at each other.
"The dresses." They said.
Yumi and Aelita came back from their winter break and Ulrich kissed Yumi. Yumi gave him the dresses and took them to Odd and Jeremie. They then put the dresses on.
"This better pay you back for what happened at the Christmas party."
"It will." They went around the whole day wearing dresses. People whistled and howled like a wolf. Milly and Tamiya took a picture.
"We are never going to forget this." Jeremie and Odd said. People laughed and the day was up. Jeremie and Odd gave the dresses back.
It was the semi-finals of soccer and Ulrich practiced. Sissi kept trying to go out with Ulrich but he still said no. Sissi went to Herb and see if he could help break them up.
"What do you need, Sissi?"
"Well, I was thinking a picture of Ulrich kissing another girl." Herb worked on his computer and showed Ulrich kissing another girl in it.
"That is perfect Herb, thanks."
Ulrich was just finishing up practice with Jim and the team. Yumi watched him from the side lines. Ulrich walked over to her and kissed her.
"Stern, I am counting on you to lead the rest of the team to victory tomorrow." Jim said walking up to him. Ulrich put his arm around Yumi.
"I will Jim." Jim walked away.
"Want to go see a movie tomorrow after the game?" He said. (A/N: Bet you can guess where I got some of my inspiration from).
"Sure Ulrich I would love too." She said kissing him. "I should go home now."
"I'll walk you." Ulrich replied
Tomorrow came by and Ulrich got dressed for the game; they were facing a hard team today. Ulrich and his team walked onto the field as the say time the visiting team came out onto the field. The game was hard and they were tied. It was the last quarter and a minute left on the clock.
Ulrich had the ball and was running down the field. He was near the goal when he was thrown out of balance and the other team got the ball. Ulrich went flying into a chair. The ref blew his whistle and Ulrich's team went to check on Ulrich.
"I'm fine." Ulrich said
"Penalty on number 23. One shot for Kadic Academy."
Ulrich was taking the penalty shot and he kicked. The ball headed for the top left of the net. The goalie missed and the ball went into the goal.
"Goal! Kadic wins the games!" the ref said.
Ulrich fell to a knee and Yumi ran onto the field. She, along with the rest of the team, helped him up. Yolanda ran over to him and checked on him.
"Well I think you sprained one of your ankles. You'll have to wear this brace and use a crutch to get around on."
"Can I still go on my date with Yumi?"
"Yes, just take it easy." Yolanda then put a brace on his left ankle and gave him a crutch.
They went to the movies later and Ulrich paid for the movie and snacks. They enjoyed the movie and Ulrich took Yumi back to her house.
"Thanks Ulrich and I will see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight Yumi and I will see you tomorrow." He said giving her a kiss and going home. He walked into his dorm room and saw Odd playing Soul Caliber 3. Ulrich grabbed some clothes and headed for the showers. When he got back to the room, he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.
A month flew by and they were going to the finals.
"Stern, are you ready for the finals?"
"Yes Jim I am." He said. He was dressed and ready for the game. He walked out and his ankle was fine.
"Play your best and try to win." Jim said. They ran onto the field and played. Yumi wasn't there because it was an away game. They were playing on the other team's home field.
Ulrich had the ball and ran up the center. He passed the ball to the teammate and he scored.
The game went on for a while and it was dark now. The score was tied and only a minute left. The other team had the ball but Ulrich came up from behind. He stole the ball and ran down the field. Ulrich made the shot and it went to the right goal post. It went and they won the game. His team mates jumped up and down. They grabbed Ulrich and carried him.
They shook the other team's hand and said good job. His team got washed up and dressed to go home. Ulrich sat on the bus and thought of how he missed Yumi. Ulrich fell asleep and the other guys were celebrating, even Jim was celebrating. They didn't even notice Ulrich fell asleep after the intense game they had. They brought home a trophy for the whole school to see.
They arrived back at school and Jim woke Ulrich up.
"Ulrich, go back to your dorm and get some sleep."
"Okay, Jim." he said sleepy.
Ulrich woke up the next morning and went down for breakfast.
"So who won the game?" Odd ask curious.
"We did." Ulrich said eating his eggs.
"We won the championship!" Odd said jumping out of his seat.
Sissi went to see Yumi before Ulrich came.
"Yumi, I have to show you something you might find interesting." She said.
"What Sissi, I'm going to meet Ulrich so bug off."
"I guess you don't want to see this picture then?"
"What picture?" She asked with curiosity. She showed a picture of Ulrich kissing Emily.
"Sissi, leave me now or else." Sissi ran and Yumi went to see Ulrich.
"Morning Yumi." Ulrich said happily.
"What is this?" She asked showing Ulrich the picture. Ulrich just looked at the picture.
"Yumi, this isn't what it looks like." Ulrich said.
"Well, what is it then? It looks like you're cheating on me. We are through, Ulrich!" Yumi said and she went off crying in tears.
"I thought you were in love with her." Odd said walking away from him. Aelita and Jeremie just gave him an evil glare. Aelita ran after Yumi and Jeremie went with her.
Ulrich threw out his trash and he went up to his dorm. Ulrich needed a quiet place to think so he went onto the roof, he sat down. Tears went down his face as he looked down and out to the forest. People saw Ulrich and tried to find Jim.
"Jim, Ulrich's on the roof." Emily said. Jim looked up to see Ulrich up there.
Police, the fire company, and the news media came. He was near one of the windows and a police man popped his head out.
"Ulrich, are your going to try to jump?"
"No, why would you think that and who are you?"
"Well you are on an edge of a roof." He said. "I am John Riddle."
"I was thinking of doing it but I don't want to John."
"Would you like to talk about it?"
"If you want me to." Ulrich said.
"It would help." John said.
"My girlfriend just broke up with me because of something I didn't do. Besides that, I have cancer."
"Did I just hear the second part right?"
"Yes." he said.
"Do you have a picture of your girlfriend?"
"Yes and here is the fake." Ulrich gave the picture of Yumi to him and the fake.
"Your girlfriend is cute and I can tell that the picture is a fake."
"Ulrich dear." he heard.
"Don't tell me Sissi is with you?"
"What is she doing up here?" John said. "Take her down now while I am trying to talk with him. Sorry about that, so who is Sissi?"
"She is a girl that is in love with me and is obsessed with me. She is mean to my friends and tries to break up any relationship with me. The worst part about it: She is the principal's daughter and thinks she can have anyone."
"Okay, she is obsessed with you, is there a reason?"
"Beside that I am a soccer star and most of the girls here want to date me." Ulrich said looking down.
"Would you like to talk to your girlfriend and what is her name?"
"No, I don't right now, and her name is Yumi Ishiyama." Ulrich said. "You wouldn't have something to drink would you?"
"No, but I can get you something." He said.
"Thanks, I'm thirsty." They gave him a bottle of water and he drank it. Pain went through his body and he dropped the bottle. He grabbed his chest.
"Are you alright?" John said The pain went away a few minutes later.
"It is getting closer to my time."
"What do you mean?"
"Once I reach near death, they're going to do an open heart blood transplant. They are going to remove all the cancer cells and put new blood back in. The only downside is that I might die in the process. If you could, do you think leave me to myself for a while?"
"Sure, I will leave you but I will be here if you need anything."
"This kid isn't suicidal, he is just depressed." John said in a whisper.
"Yeah, and I though other people had problems. He also doesn't want to kill himself over this since he is dying." One of the other policemen said.
"So what happened up there?" The chief asked.
"He is not going to jump. He just went up there to get peace and quiet. All my years doing this, his is the worse." They told him what had happened to him.
"Let me get this straight, he is not going to jump after what he has been through. Man, this kid been through a lot the last few months."
The policemen continued to talk and then they heard a cry out in pain.
"Ulrich are you alright?" John said rushing back to the window. Ulrich was in extreme pain and started to roll off the building. Ulrich managed to grab onto the gutter and was hanging off the edge. The news reporters were rushing over and filming Ulrich.
John extended his hand and Ulrich grabbed it. He got back up onto the building and went inside. Ulrich lay on the ground.
"Get me paramedics up here now!" John yelled. The paramedics came running up and checked on Ulrich. His breathing was shallow and they put him on an oxygen machine.
"We have to rush him to the hospital now." They drove the ambulance to the hospital as fast as they could. They arrived and told them the kid's name.
"Ulrich Stern."
"Bring him into the transplant room."
They rushed him to there and the doctors cut his shirt off. They opened his chest were the heart was and started to remove the cancer cells. His friends came over to the hospital to see how Ulrich is doing.
"Sorry, but Ulrich Stern is in surgery. If you like you can wait over there." The nurse said pointed to the seats.
News reporters and TV came into the hospital. They asked if they could speak with Ulrich
"No, media." They said. "If he want to talk to you when he gets better, fine. But not now so leave." TV ran into the surgery room where the doctors were doing the operation. Cameras showed Ulrich getting an open heart transplant.
"Get out; we can't have you in here. We are in the middle of a procedure and if we mess up one little detail he will die." TV refused to leave. When the police came, they were thrown out. They were finished in about an hour.
"I hope we did everything right." the doctor said. "No teen should have this done to them."
John Riddle was in the emergency room and saw Yumi.
"Are you Yumi Ishiyama?"
"Yes, who are you?"
"Well I am John Riddle. I talked to Ulrich when he was on the roof. Did you know that this picture is a fake? You can tell by the detail the people are and how messy the background is."
Yumi broke out in tears as she thought that they broke up because of a stupid fake picture.
"How did you know it was a fake?" Aelita asked.
"I compared a fake photo with a real one and it is all messy except moving things."
"Okay, I'm Aelita Stones."
"I'm Jeremie Belpois."
"I'm Odd Della Robbia, his room mate. I hope he makes it, no one should have to go through that."
"Miss Stones, Mr. Della Robia, Mr. Belpois, and Miss Ishiyama, I have some news on Ulrich's condition."
"How is he?" Yumi asked.
"He might not make it, I am sorry to say. Which one of you are the closest to him?"
"Yumi you are, go." Odd said.
"Please follow me." he said walking her down to Ulrich's room.
Yumi entered his room and hot warm tears went down her face. His monitor was beeping slowly as he lay unconscious.
"I'm sorry Ulrich." she said softly as she sat down beside the dying Ulrich. "I should have known that it was a fake but I was upset when I saw it. I wasn't there when you needed me the most. I am so sorry." Yumi rested her head on his bed as the monitor beeped slowly.
For the next week Ulrich was asleep and was fed through a tube. Yumi couldn't sleep well because her mind was on Ulrich. Sissi left the gang was alone and Yumi visited him everyday. Ulrich parents were there to stay with him and hoping he got better.
Yumi slept by Ulrich's side on a Friday night. The gang was going to the movies to enjoy themselves. Ulrich's heart monitor started to beep faster and Yumi woke up frighten. Ulrich eyes opened and saw Yumi next to him.
"Yumi, I love you." He said.
"I love you too and I don't want you to leave me ever again." Yumi hugged Ulrich as he kissed her. He holds Yumi as the doctor came in.
"Ulrich, you're awake? I thought you were going to die. The operation was a success." He said.
"Yeah it was. I hope that I don't have to go through anything like that again."
"I will let you rest." Ulrich kissed Yumi and they fell asleep together with Ulrich arms still wrapped around her.